


A Spider Born From Secrets

by WyldeSpiderRaptor



Series: Secrets Tangled in a Web of Lies [1]
Category: Black Widow (Movie 2020), Daredevil (TV), Jessica Jones (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alcoholic May Parker (Spider-Man), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anti-Mutant Sentiments (Marvel), Anti-Mutantism, Aquaphobia, BAMF Helen Cho, But he doesn't know it yet, Coercion, Dark Past, Dark Tony Stark, Emotional Manipulation, F/M, Gen, Human Disaster Matt Murdock, Hydra (Marvel), Hydra Peter Parker (kind of), Illegal Activities, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Torture, Inhumans (Marvel), It's HYDRA what did you expect?, Jealous Peter Parker, Jessica Jones Acting As Michelle Jones's Parental Figure, Jessica Jones is Michelle Jones's Aunt, Matt Murdock acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Matt Murdock is a Good Bro, Matt Murdock is the Parkers' Lawyer, Medical Inaccuracies, Medical Procedures, Mentioned Skip Westcott, Michelle Jones Has Superpowers, Michelle Jones Is a Good Bro, Michelle Jones is an Inhuman, Mind Manipulation, Mutant Inhibitor Bracelets, Mutant Peter Parker, Mutant Powers, Mutant Registration, Mutants, Natasha Romanov & May Parker (Spider-Man) & Matt Murdock Co-Parenting Peter Parker, Natasha Romanov and May Parker (Spider-Man) Co-Parenting Peter Parker, Ned Leeds is a Good Bro, Oscorp - Freeform, Out of Character, Out of Character May Parker (Spider-Man), Out of Character Peter Parker, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Sexual Abuse, Peter Parker Acts Like a Spider, Peter Parker Has Erotophobia, Peter Parker Has Issues, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Whump, Peter Parker and Harry Osborn Rivalry, Peter Parker has PTSD, Peter Parker is Natasha Romanov's Biological Child, Peter Parker is a Little Shit, Peter Parker is a Mess, Pre-Bite, Pre-Bite Peter Parker, Pre-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Protective Jessica Jones, Protective Michelle Jones, Protective Natasha Romanov, Red Room (Marvel), Red Room Peter Parker, Spider-Man: Homecoming - Freeform, Stressed Peter Parker, Supportive May Parker (Spider-Man), This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, Tony Stark is Superior Iron Man, Tortured Peter Parker
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:15:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24694366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WyldeSpiderRaptor/pseuds/WyldeSpiderRaptor
Summary: Peter Parker had thought his life was normal, although tainted with death here and there. But when a field trip to Oscorp goes astray, he's drawn into the life of heroism as Spider-Man; a morally ambitious vigilante who isn't afraid to seriously maim or kill if he needs to.Armed with his two best friends by his side, Peter throws himself into vigilantism until the news that his mother is still alive is flung at him after a blood test results in exploiting a past he barely remembers.CURRENTLY BEING REWRITTEN!
Relationships: Matt Murdock & Peter Parker, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker & Kevin Thompson (Marvel), May Parker (Spider-Man)/Kevin Thompson (Marvel), Michelle Jones & Felicia Hardy & Liz Allan & Betty Brant & Gwen Stacy, Michelle Jones & Jessica Jones, Michelle Jones & Liz Allan & Felicia Hardy, Michelle Jones & Ned Leeds & Peter Parker & Harry Osborn, Michelle Jones & Peter Parker & Felicia Hardy, Michelle Jones/Harry Osborn (one-sided), Past Ben Parker/May Parker (Spider-Man), Past Richard Parker/Natasha Romanov, Peter Parker & Happy Hogan, Peter Parker & Harry Osborn, Peter Parker & May Parker (Spider-Man), Peter Parker & Natasha Romanov, Peter Parker/Felicia Hardy (one-sided), Peter Parker/Liz Allan (one-sided)
Series: Secrets Tangled in a Web of Lies [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1785343
Comments: 4
Kudos: 182





	1. Author's Note

Hey, everyone. I'm so sorry I've abandoned this story. That wasn't my intention at all. For now, I wanted to say happy new year, and I'm so glad that we all survived the trash fire that is 2020.

I'm going to be starting my first year at college on Monday, so that will probably take up a lot of my time, so I just wanted to let you all know that I now have a better idea of how I'll be writing stuff for my Spiderverse or Earth-98565, and I wanted to share it with you. I'll be writing one-shots that lead up to the events of a rewritten _A Spider Born From Secrets_. These one-shots will be posted in a series called _Secrets Tangled in a Web of Lies (Earth-98565)_ and will take place a few years before the events of ASBFS, and that will really help shape out the reserved, anti-social, introverted Peter Parker that I've designed.

I'll also be posting these little one-shots on my Patreon _first_ , and then they will be posted on here two weeks later. The link to my Patreon is in my profile bio, and you can also find artwork I've drawn for my Spiderverse on there, too, such as character reference sheets, simple sketches, concept art, and more.

I hope you guys had a merry Christmas and a happy new year, and I'll see you soon!


	2. Author's Note

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After recovering from a two-day fever, Peter wakes up one morning with drastic physical changes that leave him wondering what the heck happened to him, and how.
> 
> Too panicked to think straight, he ends up enlisting the help of Helen Cho, May's high school friend, and the official doctor/geneticist to the Avengers, to try and piece together what kind of spider that bit him and why he woke up with his new abilities.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy (very belated) first anniversary, Spider-Man: Far From Home!
> 
> Since I'm finished with Spideychelle Week, I've finally managed to finish the second chapter of SMVF! I missed writing in my Au very much, so I'm really glad I can write some more for it!

_March 29, 2016, Parker Residence_

Blotches of bright, blinding light stung Peter’s eyes, as he twisted around in his bed, groaning and covering his head with the covers of a blanket.

Why was everything so bright? He knew for a _fact_ that his room wasn’t this bright…. So where was he?

A sudden feeling of utter terror washed over Peter, blue eyes snapping open as he flung his blanket off of his body before shrinking back upon the onslaught of light coming from his bedroom light. Blinking away the sudden confusion and fear, Peter stared at every detail his room had to offer, trying to convince himself that it wasn’t a dream that he wasn’t in a hospital, that Ben wasn’t dying on an operating table, and that he wasn’t…

“Peter? Are you okay, sweetheart?” The sound of May’s voice hit his ears a lot harsher than he expected them to.

“Uhm… May? I can hear you perfectly, you don’t have to yell at me through the door…” Peter said, his voice low and scratchy from sleep and disuse.

May pushed his door open, a relieved and albeit drunken smile on her face. “Oh, thank goodness! I thought I was going to have to take you to the hospital!” She trapped him in a tight hug, which confused the poor teenager even more.

Peter furrowed his brow, glancing over at the alarm clock to his left.

6:15. He could still sleep for an extra hour and thirty minutes before his weekend alarm went off.

“Uh, May? How long was I asleep for…? I mean… What time did Michelle and Ned bring me by yesterday?” He asked, causing his aunt to pull away from the hug with a concerned look on her face.

“Peter, you’ve been delirious with a fever for the past two days.”

 _Two days?!_ He was delirious with a horrible fever for _two days_?!

“Why… Two days?” He looked at his aunt in shock. “May, I know I hate going to the doctor from what happened to me three years ago, but that doesn’t give you an excuse to not take me to the doctor!” He squeaked out, still shocked and slightly terrified.

“Peter, baby, I tried to get you to the hospital,” May explained gently, placing a hand on his shoulder, the scent of alcohol lingering on her breath, “but you were so scared that you refused to let me near you without breaking down…”

Peter sat back on his bed, rubbing circles into his temples with two fingers on each hand. “I don’t…. I don’t understand… why can’t I remember what happened to me…?”

“Your fever was at 104 degrees, Peter, I’m not surprised that you can’t remember much.” May handed him his glasses, which he hadn’t even realized he wasn’t wearing.

He instinctively placed them over his face before squinting. He waited until May had turned around to grab another beer bottle before taking them off.

He could see without his glasses. How could he see without his glasses? He had the worst eyesight ever, even Mr. Delmar knew _that_.

He shook his head frantically when unwanted memories reached his head, begging the box of the trauma he so securely locked up to be opened and those horrible events he went through running rampant in his brain.

He wrinkled his nose a bit when he realized that he was still wearing the clothes he had worn to the Oscorp lab. Of course, May wouldn’t have helped him change into pajamas. He hated it when anyone had to help him change into, well, anything. Even a hospital gown when he wasn’t even awake after his surgery to remove his appendix.

Trudging towards his closet, he pulled out a black t-shirt with a white and red outline of an atom that read, “The physics is theoretical, but the fun is real” from his closet, then rummaged through the bottom drawer of his dresser to find a pair of faded jeans.

He was running low on clothes to wear. He was on his last pair of socks and underwear, so he knew what he had to work on besides homework from school.

Homework. School.

“Shit!” Peter slammed his fist against the wall of his room, something he always did when he was frustrated. He was _very_ surprised to see that his fist _dented_ the wall when it made contact. That he knew for a fact wasn’t normal.

“Peter? Is everything alright in there?” May called, blissfully unaware of her nephew trying to patch up the dent in the wall by covering it with repositioning one of his movie posters.

“Uh, y-yeah! Yeah, it’s all good! I’m all good! I’m just gonna take a shower,” he stammered hastily, as he turned to move away from the wall.

He couldn’t move.

He looked down at his hands, which were planted firmly on the wall where his _Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark_ poster that he and Ben bought together for his birthday now was.

He pulled his hands back but found that his fingers were _stuck_ to the paper.

 _I’m not ripping my $750 poster that I saved up to buy for six years just because my fingers are stuck to it_ , he thought bitterly, the signatures of Harrison Ford, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg staring back at him, almost mocking him.

He always loved to look at that poster when he was upset, especially during the dark time he suffered through three years ago. That and the small, tattered Black Widow sheet he had pawned off of a well-known friend of his.

He squared his shoulders, eyes focused on his now sticky fingers. “Okay, Peter… C’mon, Peter… Unstick… C’mon, Peter just _unstick_ ,” he coached himself. He flexed his fingers a tiny bit and grinned when he managed to pull them away from his poster without ripping the priceless piece of merchandise. He suddenly jumped with a yelp when May knocked on his door.

“Peter?” She peeked inside the room, but she couldn’t see her nephew anywhere. “Peter, you’re going to be late for school, where are you?”

Peter’s breathing was coming in shallow gasps as he stared at his aunt from his position on the _ceiling_.

He jumped, literally _jumped_ , onto the ceiling.

“U-up here, Aunt May…” He squeaked out, already crawling towards his top bunk, ignoring the sharp edges and harsh surfaces of whatever gadgets he designed during his dumpster diving escapades.

“Oh. there you are! What are you doing up there?” She asked, swaying slightly.

Peter shrugged, relieved that he managed to unstick from his ceiling and was now crouched on all fours like a gargoyle, silently praying his fingers wouldn’t stick to the bedsheets. “Just… Sticking around up here, I guess.” He mentally praised himself for the ridiculous one-liner and thought about using it more often. For what, he didn’t know. But it was a good quip, okay?

“Well... Don’t forget you have to shower before school, kiddo,” May chuckled, probably from her beer or from his pun.

Peter nodded. “Okay. I won’t forget. I’ve gone without one for two days. I feel disgusting,” he joked.

May smiled and spun around on her heel to exit his doorway.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Peter ran a hand through his hair, glad he didn’t stick to his messy, scarlet-brown curls. His blue eyes focused on the floor below his bed, as he tried to wrap his mind around what he was able to do.

People… People climb on walls all the time, right? It wasn’t… That was normal, right?

 _No, no that was not normal_ , Peter thought to himself as he pushed himself over the railing of the bunk bed and onto the floor.

At least his feet _brushed_ the floor.

“Oh, c’mon…” He growled when he saw his hands stuck to the frame of his bed.

_Just relax…. Just like you did the first time._

He took a deep breath, carefully placing one foot on his bed, the other on his carpeted floor when he unstuck one hand. He didn’t move from his position for a few more moments until he was positive his other hand wasn’t stuck to anything.

Regathering his clothes into his arms, Peter shuffled into the hallway and the bathroom.

Closing and locking the door for security, the fourteen-year-old sucked in a shaky breath, trying to calm himself down and avoid the onset panic he knew was going to strike him at any moment.

Okay, he could dent walls with his full strength. Bodybuilders could probably do that, too, right? But he wasn’t a bodybuilder. He was scrawny and weak, practically blind as a bat without his glasses—which he somehow didn’t even _need_ anymore—and there was absolutely _no way_ he could dent a surface in with how tiny and scrawny he was. He was also super sticky and could jump super high. People jump super high all the time. He’s seen the parkour videos of people jumping from building to building, but they weren’t sticky like he had been. They didn’t get stuck to walls or bed frames.

But he _did_.

Sighing in exhaustion, he was careful in turning on the shower to make sure he didn’t break or stick to anything else, although he probably squirted out too much shampoo onto his hand when he squeezed the bottle a bit too hard. Other than that mishap, nothing else happened.

Not until he had stepped out of the shower to change into his school clothes.

Wiping the condensation away from the bathroom mirror, Peter didn’t pay too much attention to his reflection, mainly because he could never see it without his glasses, only peeking up out of instinct to remind himself of which shirt he brought into the bathroom to change into when he froze.

Staring back at him was...well, it was him, but something was different. _Majorly_ different.

He looked to be two or three inches taller than he was last night, which made him a bit taller than Ned, but still shorter than Michelle. He wasn’t gaunt in the slightest, thanks to the clearly defined muscles staring back at him.

He choked out a startled breath, before self-consciously wrapping his arms around his chest.

 _Okay, okay_ , _this… This is fine. People… People wake up after being bit by a spider and a two-day fever completely ripped all the time, right?_ He tried to calm himself down by pulling his t-shirt on over his upper body, but if anything it made the situation ten times worse.

He knew this particular shirt was a fraction of an inch too short, but he still wore it because he could _fit_ into it. But with him now being as jacked as he was…

“Dammit,” he cursed under his breath, barely glancing at himself in the mirror when the short sleeves constricted against the new muscles on his arms. “I’ll just…” He groaned, running stressed hands through his wild, scarlet-brown hair. “I’ll just put a jacket on over it, hope that’ll cover it up or something.”

He slipped out of the bathroom in record speed to prevent May from seeing him acting as weird as he was, he pulled on a grey jacket off from a hook on the back of his bedroom door. The jacket wasn’t as baggy as he hoped, but it would at least do _something_.

Peter was always super self-conscious about how he looked since he was so weak and thin, but some part of him was _glad_ that he put a bit of bulk on.

Hastily brushing his teeth before popping a plate of bacon in the microwave and a sliced bagel in the toaster, Peter yanked the fridge door open and frowned when he saw that they were low on decent food.

No matter. He’ll just deal with buying McDonald’s or something on his way to school for lunch.

No, he really didn’t _want_ McDonald’s, but it was a block away from the subway he always took to reach his school, so he didn’t have much of a choice. He could always go grocery shopping after school, anyway. It wasn’t like he was in any extracurricular activities or anything.

When he sat down at the table to hurriedly scarf down his breakfast, he barely paid any attention to May walking into the kitchen.

“Slow down, kiddo!” She laughed, ruffling his hair.

“Hm?” He looked up, watching her toss the empty beer bottle into the trash before looking down at his food. “‘M just hungry, that’s all.”

“You’re eating enough food for two people,” she chuckled. “Guess it must be that post-fever hunger, huh?”

Peter looked down at his plateful of bagel, bacon, and eggs.

She was right. It _was_ a lot of food. Way too much food for any normal person to consume, especially someone of his size.

He gave his aunt a sheepish smile before his stomach growled at him to keep feeding it, which he subconsciously obliged to.

Once the growling in his stomach subsided, he stuffed a few protein bars into his backpack to snack on in between classes, then grabbed whatever money he needed for his lunch.

“May, I’m gonna go grocery shopping after school, do you need anything?” He asked, tilting his head.

“Oh, don’t worry about grocery shopping today, sweetie. Caterina and I are gonna go out and take care of that,” May replied, waving dismissively at him.

“Oh. Okay. I was, uh, gonna go get McDonald’s for lunch today,” he said before rubbing the hand that had a small red mark from where the spider bit him. “Do you, uh… Do you think we could go see Ms. Cho after school today? Just in case?”

Helen Cho was May’s best friend and the doctor for the Avengers. Peter only met her once or twice, but it was way before the Avengers were even a thing. She dealt with superpowered individuals all the time, right? Maybe she had a reason as to why he was suddenly ripped, sticky, and had the best eyesight and hearing he’d ever had in the short, almost-fifteen years on earth.

May smiled and nodded. “Of course, Peter. You can invite your friends over if you want today, too.”

He nodded before hugging his aunt. “Okay, May. I larb you. I’ll see you after school.”

“Larb you, too, Peter,” she said softly, kissing his forehead.

Slipping on worn-out Nike sneakers, Peter dashed out the door to get to McDonald’s as fast as he could before having to go to school.

He didn’t have to stop _one time_ to slow down to a trot or catch his breath on the staircase, nor did he have a stitch in his side from going so fast after eating such a large breakfast.

It felt... _amazing_. He felt like he could run for miles without stopping, without having to catch his breath, with no care in the world.

He grinned when he saw the McDonald’s right across the street from where he was. No cars were coming from that particular street since they were all stopping for the red light positioned on the sidewalk in between two buildings.

Bounding across the street, a strange, prickling sensation traveled from the base of his skull and down his spine.

_LOOK OUT!_

With his body acting on its own accord, he _flipped_ over the flashy sportscar that nearly slammed into him as the driver tried to run the red light.

Peter landed on his feet on the other side of the car in a crouch, ignoring the impressed clapping and cheering from a few bystanders. He scrambled to his feet and stumbled into the McDonald’s eyes, blown wide.

He pulled out a wad of cash he saved from working at _The Daily Bugle_ out from his backpack’s side pocket and took a deep breath to try and steady himself.

 _Okay, okay, that… That was kinda cool. Little freaky, but cool,_ he mused to himself, as he stepped in line to order his food for lunch, trying to ignore the beating of heartbeats and muffled music coming from the iPods of someone sitting nearby at a booth and eating a breakfast sandwich.

He took a deep breath, fiddling with the spare change in his hands, as he flicked his eyes upward towards the digital menu hanging overhead.

Although a cheeseburger sounded good to him, he didn’t think that buying and eating one so soon after his fever was such a good idea. Besides, he was running low on pocket money for groceries in general.

The dreading thought about trying to find a job that would pay better than _The Daily Bugle_ started to nag at his brain. He wasn’t looking forward to trying and attempting to steal if he wanted to make ends meet. That wouldn’t help him or May. It would disappoint May and probably get _him_ arrested and sent to a juvenile detention center.

When he noticed a sketchy-looking man staring at him from the other end of the fast-food restaurant, Peter curled in on himself, wishing he had worn one of Ben’s belts to go out that day.

Belts were safe. Belts meant that he wouldn’t get hurt by people who wanted him for their sick, twisted pleasure.

Avoiding the tingling feeling shooting up and down his spine that made him shiver and attempt to zip his jacket up more for some sort of protection, even though it already reached the end of the zipper line, Peter focused on the cashier in front of him, muttering out his order for lunch, and took two hash browns to go for a snack on his way to school when his stomach began to growl at him, demanding him to find it something to tide it over.

“You feeding for two or something, kid?”

“One, Mr. Murdock,” Peter replied, giving the blind man a cheeky smile, despite knowing he couldn’t see him. “I’m eating for one, and it’s me.”

Matt Murdock chuckled, shaking his head. “Your sass, kid, is overwhelming,” he joked, standing up from his table to walk over and ruffle the boy’s scarlet-copper hair, his cane clicking against the ground.

Matt Murdock was one of Ben’s childhood friends who later became his and May’s lawyer. When they brought Peter into their lives, he immediately grew attached to the small boy and stuck around as a close family friend long after Ben had been killed in that mugging.

He fought very hard for them to get justice after Ben had died, thanks to the mugger having killed himself at the scene so Peter or May couldn’t have been able to testify against him in court.

“Thanks, I try hard. Pretty sure you love it, though,” Peter said, his stomach growling at him in impatience while he waited for his hash browns and lunch to be finished.

“Jeez, it sounds like you haven’t eaten at all in the morning, Pete,” Matt chuckled, a bit amused.

“I did, actually,” Peter laughed, rubbing the back of his head. “I had the biggest breakfast in the world this morning. I don’t understand why I’m so hungry now.”

“Maybe it’s because you’ve hit a growth spurt? Don’t try to lie to me, kid, I know I’ve lifted my hand at least two inches higher to reach your head.”

“Pretty impressive for someone who can’t see,” Peter commented, which earned him a smack to the back of the head, making him laugh.

“You’re a little shit, Peter Parker. You know that, right?” Matt chuckled, shaking his head.

“Yeah, I know.” He smiled before looking over his shoulder when one of the employees called his name, alerting him his food was ready. “I think my food’s ready. I’ll see you tomorrow, Mr. Murdock.”

“You have fun in school, kid, you hear me?” Matt pulled Peter into a tight hug, something he did frequently since the kid practically thrived on the physical contact his aunt rarely gave him.

“I’ll try my best,” Peter said, allowing the man to ruffle his hair one more time before pulling away from the hug. He trotted up to the counter to grab his two bags of McDonald’s food, stuffing the one with his lunch inside his backpack.

“I’ll see you around, Peter,” Matt promised, smiling.

Peter grinned back at him, starting to head out. “I’ll call you later!” He called over his shoulder, making the man laugh as he pushed open the door to the restaurant.

Matt heard a muffled, foreign curse and turned his head toward Peter, who had gotten his hand stuck to the glass while pushing the door open.

He could hear him yank his hand back with a squeak as he accidentally toppled into someone.

“Sorry, sir! So sorry!” He bit out in a panicked voice before shoving his shoulder into the door and running out of the restaurant.

Matt sighed, shaking his head. He knew how much Peter loved physical contact from people he trusted, but strangers were a no-go.

That was why he pulled his phone out to call the fourteen-year-old to check on him.

Outside, Peter took a bite of one of his hash browns before looking back at his phone in his side backpack pocket when he could hear the muffled noise of his ringtone.

“Miss me already?” He cracked, grinning when Matt laughed lightly.

“ _Hilarious. Are you doing okay? I heard you bump into someone,_ ” Matt’s voice asked on the other line, evidently concerned.

“Yeah. Yeah, I was just… I wasn’t expecting someone to be behind me is all…” He rubbed the back of his neck, swallowing his bite of hash brown.

“ _Alright. I just wanted to check up on you and make sure,_ ” the man replied. “ _I_ _’ll talk to you later, Peter._ ”

“Okay. Talk to you later, Mr. Murdock. Thanks for checking up on me.”

“ _Bye, Pete._ ”

“Bye.” Peter hung up after that, smiling a bit at the nickname the man always called him. He continued his walk to school, nibbling on his hash brown as he went.

* * *

_March 29, 2016, Midtown School of Science and Technology_

Michelle didn’t expect to see Peter return to school two days after he was dying with fever delirium, but to her surprise, the dumbass himself strolled through the front door, occasionally rubbing his jaw with the back of his hand, acting like someone had hit him in the face mere seconds ago.

“Well. Look at that. The king of dumbassery has arrived,” she drawled playfully, slugging Peter in his shoulder.

He smiled when he saw her, no longer having to tilt his head up to see her. “Hey, Jones. Fancy seeing you here,” he said around a stabbing pain in his gums.

“Nice to see you’re not dying,” she retorted, smirking a bit. “What’s up with you and your new growth spurt? I doubt you grew two inches while you were that sick. And where are your glasses? I know you can't see shit without them.”

Peter shrugged a bit, silently pleading the relentless pain in his gums to stop. “At least I don’t have to lean back to look up at you,” he grinned smugly, but all that did was hurt his mouth even more. "And, uh, you're not gonna believe it if I told you. About my glasses, I mean."

“Stop trying to smile, it's evident that your mouth is hurting,” Michelle said, able to read the pain in his eyes.

“Yeah, it started killing me on the subway here,” he grumbled, stuffing his hands into his jacket pockets, begging whoever was looking down on him from the clouds would make sure his new muscles wouldn’t be seen through his t-shirt _and_ zipped hoodie. He didn’t want Michelle to notice and start asking questions. Not that she ever asked any questions about how he looked, he was just paranoid.

“C’mon, loser, Ned’s waiting for us in homeroom. I’m sure he’d love to see you alive and well.” The Inhuman strolled off down the hallway, Peter trotting behind her, hands clutching his backpack straps in a white-knuckled grip.

Ned drummed his fingers against the table he and his friends always sat at, lifting his head when Michelle and Peter stepped into the room. “Dude, I thought you were _dead_!” He pulled Peter into a bear hug, which made the teenager stiffen, his heart hammering against his sculpted chest, praying Ned didn’t feel something off when he hugged him.

“Yeah… Well… I’m alive…” He said in a tight voice. “But you can, uh, let me go now.”

“Right, sorry.” Ned removed his arms from around the now taller Peter which made his eyes bug out of his skull. “Dude, did you get taller or something?”

Peter shrugged again. “Yeah, I guess so.” He wished he had an ice cube or something to suck on like he was some sort of teething baby all over again.

“You sure you’re feeling alright? I mean, you were delirious for two straight days…” The other boy asked, brow furrowed. "And you're not wearing your glasses."

Peter waved a hand dismissively, slumping into his chair. “Yeah, ‘m fine. And about the glasses thing... I, uh, I kinda woke up with the best eyesight in the world.” He rubbed his tongue over his teeth and instantly winced. His gums were sore, the pain similar to when he had gotten a cavity when he was eight or nine, and all he wanted was to be sucking on something.

"A two-day fever does not cause perfect eyesight, Parker," Michelle responded, monotone.

Peter shrugged. "I dunno. But I can see perfectly fine without them." He watched Michelle sit in the chair to his left, while Ned took the chair on the right.

"You sure you'll be able to see today without anything? No contacts, no glasses, no anything?" Ned asked, furrowing his brow in confusion.

The blue-eyed boy nodded, resting his chin on his arms before instantly switching to his cheek when the pressure on his jaw was too much. "Positive."

For most of the school day, Peter’s mouth started to hurt even worse, and he was growing even more desperate for something to suck or chew on.

Talking hurt his mouth way more than running his tongue along his teeth to try and soothe the pain himself, so he tried his very hardest not to talk as much while Ned bombarded him with questions.

“Did your temperature go up to 110?”

“No.”

“Do you think the spider was radioactive?”

“No, Ned.”

“Is… Is your mouth hurting, Peter?”

Peter looked at his best friend, somewhat happy he was a bit taller than him. “What?”

“You’ve been rubbing your jaw for the last few questions I asked you,” Ned replied, as they walked out of their science classroom to go to lunch. “Everything okay with your mouth?”

He sighed. “I don’t know… My gums have been hurting all day since I got to school, and they’ve been getting worse…”

“Do you think we should take you to the nurse Peter?” Ned asked, furrowing his brow in worry.

“No, I don’t want you guys to, y’know, do that for me,” Peter replied, waving a dismissive hand.

“Of course you don’t want to go to the nurse because you’re afraid it’ll be inconvenient to _us_ instead of worrying about whether or not you have a cavity,” Michelle deadpanned. “You’re practically the most selfless person on earth.”

Peter rolled his eyes at that, smiling a bit. “You caught me.”

“But seriously, Parker. Do you need to go to the nurse?” The Inhuman asked as they headed outside into the courtyard to eat their lunch, purposely bypassing the cafeteria to avoid being tormented by Flash.

He shook his head. “No, I don’t need to go to the nurse. I’ll be fine,” he said, ignoring how much his mouth ached when he spoke.

 _Maybe eating some food would help_ , he thought silently, he, Ned and Michelle sitting propped against a tree in the fenced play yard, watching some of the other high schoolers practice their cheerleading routine, while a few others were playing football or a game of basketball.

“You’re seriously telling me that you’re going to be able to eat a 20pc Chicken McNugget, an extra-large French fry, _and_ three chocolate chip cookies all by yourself with your mouth hurting as bad as it is?” Michelle asked him, she and Ned visibly surprised—well, he _assumed_ Michelle was surprised. It was hard to tell with her—once they saw him pull out the large bag of the greasy fast food.

“Well… Yeah. But I’m only eating one cookie.” Peter passed one to Ned, then one to Michelle, who eagerly took it in her hands. Peter knew how much she loved chocolate. “If they had expresso chip cookies, I would’ve gotten you one of those instead,” he teased lightly, making her smack the back of her hand against his bicep.

“Shut up, Parker.” She took a bite of her cookie before moving a finger underneath her Inhibitor bracelet to scratch at an itch on her wrist.

Peter tried his very best to consider his throbbing gums while he ate his food, letting Ned and Michelle steal some of his fries while they ate their lunches.

“Peter, how are you not full yet? You’ve only got three nuggets left!” Ned squeaked, making Peter look down at the purple and white cardboard packaging. “I can’t eat more than _ten_ of those things without feeling like I’m going to throw up.”

Peter popped another fry into his mouth. “I dunno, man, I just woke up and felt like I haven’t eaten in two days— which I haven’t. I guess it’s just me trying to, y’know, eat enough food for the two days I wasn’t able to eat for.”

“I think May had you drinking some sort of protein shake or something while you were out-of-it,” Michelle mused. She readjusted her Inhibitor on her wrist, so the blinking green light and buckle were facing upwards.

“She did?” He tilted his head, confused. “She knows I never drink those things. They make my mouth feel funny.”

“Well, whatever you were sucking up through a straw sure looked like a protein shake,” Ned mumbled, furrowing his brow.

Peter gave an exaggerated gag before his gums throbbed in pain, making him slowly click his mouth shut.

He managed to get through lunch without any further incident when he felt a sharp, prickly sensation shoot down his spine.

Almost as if his body was acting on instinct, he ducked to avoid a soccer ball to the back of his skull, Ned and Michelle watching it bounce over his head and land a few feet in front of him and his friends.

“Dude…” Ned gaped at him, while Michelle quirked an eyebrow up in her form of neutral surprise.

Peter’s heart thumped in his ears, his gums starting to ache even worse, as he watched the junior who kicked the ball in his general direction by mistake trotted off to retrieve it.

How did he know the ball was coming? How could he _feel_ it coming?

“Peter are you okay?” Michelle asked when she noticed him zoning out.

“Y-yeah… Yeah, I’m fine…” He ran his hands through his hair. “It’s just… A bunch of weird stuff has happened to me this morning, and I’m just... I’m just confused…” He wrapped his arms around his waist, bringing his knees up against his chest.

“Confused as to what?” Michelle asked carefully.

“Confused as to why it’s happening to me.” He lifted his blue gaze to meet her dark, cocoa eyes.

Ned and Michelle both looked confused and a bit worried when they heard that.

“Do… Do you think it’s after-effects from your fever?” Ned asked, taking a bite of his cookie.

Peter pulled out his cookie from the bag, having saved it for last. “I don’t know… It’s not post-fever symptoms, Ned. it’s something different..” He side-eyed Michelle’s Inhibitor bracelet, already imagining the fear on his face when he’d have to step foot into the high-tech Inhibitor Stop Convenience Store to be fitted for a bracelet or collar that would shock him if he stepped out of line.

“Peter, breathe, man… You’re going into a panic attack…” Ned rubbed his friend’s back, while Michelle hesitantly placed a hand on his shoulder. “Is it about..?”

“No, it’s not about Ben. Or _him_ …” Peter spat out the last word like it was some sort of a curse. “It’s just… Everything’s kinda overwhelming right now…”

“How’s it overwhelming?” Michelle asked, sounding almost...sympathetic.

“When I woke up this morning… Everything was dialed to eleven. My sight, my hearing, all of it. I can see a lot of different colors, too.”

“Really? Like what?” Ned seemed a bit interested.

“I don’t know how to explain it to you without you guys getting incredibly confused, but I can try,” Peter laughed, smiling at his friend’s curiosity. “Well… If I try to zone out and focus on one thing, the color of the object or whatever I’m staring at is either green, red, orange, or blue, kinda like I’m drawn to looking at those particular colors. And I can see color that’s probably created under a UV lamp, too.”

“Huh. Well, you gave us a pretty simplified version of what kind of colors you can see, so I guess that’s pretty cool, Parker,” Michelle commented, leaning back against the tree they were positioned under.

“Yeah, Peter! It sounds neat!” Ned agreed excitedly, grinning. “I wish I could see colors like that. That would be _awesome_!”

Peter smiled a bit, fiddling with a string on the sleeve of his jacket. “Thanks, guys. It’s overwhelming, though. It’s cool and all, but overwhelming. Everything’s sharper and looks like I’m staring through high-definition lenses or something. Everything’s louder, too.”

“Really?” Michele sat up a bit more, raising an eyebrow. “Like… I dunno, give me an example. What can you hear that we can’t?”

The thirteen-year-old furrowed his brow before taking a deep breath, trying to concentrate. “Well, for one, I can hear both of your heartbeats, I can hear someone playing music through their headphones— I mean, it’s faint, but I can still hear it, and I can hear a dog barking from somewhere don the street.”

“Woah…” Ned’s jaw dropped. “Dude, that is freaking crazy! What else can you hear?”

“Leeds, don’t crowd him,” Michelle piped up when she saw Peter’s body tense up. “Just like he said; it’s overwhelming, so getting all riled up about it probably isn’t the best thing for him right now.”

“Right, right. Sorry, man.” Ned clapped the boy on his back apologetically.

“Eh, ‘s fine. You just got excited, nothing wrong with that.” He shrugged, losing his tense posture and looking a bit more relaxed. He glanced down at his hands, reluctant to tell them about the stickiness of his fingers, but he thought against it.

Knowing Ned, he alone would probably draw more attention to them than Peter would have liked.

“So. what’s on the agenda after school?” Michelle questioned, pulling out a sandwich from her bag.

“Well… May’s friend is gonna pick me up and take me to see why I had that awful reaction to that stupid spider at Oscorp,” Peter explained.

“Peter, you hate going to the doctor…” Ned furrowed his brow, confused and worried.

“But May’s known Helen Cho since high school,” Peter objected.

“The Avengers’ doctor? Your aunt knows the _Avengers’ doctor_?!” The other boy squealed excitedly, eyes comically wide, making Michelle chuckle.

“You guys are losers, you really are.” She nudged Peter in the ribs with her elbow. “Continue on getting Helen Cho to examine you.”

“Okay, when you put it that way... “ He wrung the hem of his jacket in his hands, brow furrowed.

Michelle sighed, slinging her arm around his shoulders. “That kinda came off wrong.”

Peter nodded. “Yeah… Kinda.” He lifted his head to reach her gaze to see her face full of concern before steeling himself. “But it’s okay. I don’t mind.” he cleared his throat. “So, anyway, uh... She’s gonna drive us to the Avengers Tower MedBay so she can just.. I dunno… Do blood work or something like that.”

“Dude, the _Avengers Tower MedBay_?! That sounds amazing!” Ned eagerly grinned at his best friend. “Can you please take me?!”

“It’s a doctor’s appointment, Nedward,” Michelle said nonchalantly. “You’ll just be sitting in a chair while Parker here gets a checkup.”

“Michelle, it’s the _Avengers Tower_!” Ned whined, dragging the Inhuman’s name out.

Michelle rolled her eyes. “Fanboy. Alright, how about this; Peter decides whether we can come or not.”

“Way to put me on the spot, Jones,” Peter commented dryly, rubbing his jaw with the back of his hand. “Yeah, I guess you guys can come. I mean, it’ll be better than just going through all the tests by myself, anyway.”

Ned pumped his fist in a victory. “Yes!”

Michelle rolled her eyes but smiled. “Great. We get to sit in chairs and be bored for who-knows-how-long in the Avengers Tower.”

“Oh c’mon. You know you’re allowed to take that awful Inhibitor off in there,” Peter said, motioning to the band around his friend’s wrist. “Don’t tell me you don’t want to pass up that opportunity.”

“You know another place that allows me to take this thing off? Your house, Ned’s house, and my house. Avengers Tower won’t be much different,” Michelle deadpanned, waving her hand dismissively at the still-shorter boy. “Yeah, sure, it’ll be good to get this thing off, but I can take it off in other places, y’know.”

Peter commented on it being “limited and unfair”, but the girl paid him no mind. She knew how opposed he and his uncle were—in Peter’s case, still is—about the Inhibitor bracelets and collars Mutants and Inhumans alike needed to wear, so his little comments about the offending bracelet were something he complained about often, especially in private.

Once lunch had finished, the three teenagers headed back inside to finish out the rest of the school day with the promise of meeting up at the gate to wait for Helen to pick them up and take them to the Avengers Tower.

Peter had texted his aunt to let her know that his friends were tagging along, his gums aching relentlessly. From all of the talking he did during lunch, he didn’t think he could open his mouth without wincing.

All he wanted was an ice cube to suck on. That’s all he wanted. Maybe Helen had one at the Tower for him to soothe the ache in his gums. He’d have to ask her about it.

He had thought about slamming his face into his desk, but he was worried he’d break the entire chair if he hit the surface too hard, thanks to his new strength.

But his mouth hurt _so bad_.

He buried his face into the crook of his elbow, which was resting on the desk in front of him, trying to think of some way to soothe the pain in his mouth without having to talk for very long.

He was so busy being trapped in his thoughts that he ended up jerking in his seat when the bell went off for the end of the school day, his ears ringing.

“Mr, Parker, I sure hope you didn’t fall asleep on us.” His English teacher, Mrs. Stephenson, focused a stern glare on him.

“No, I was awake, ma’am. Just my mouth’s been hurting for most of the day,” he admitted, slinging his backpack over his shoulder.

Mrs. Stephenson nodded. “Good. You know how I feel about students falling asleep in class, Mr. Parker.”

The fourteen-year-old nodded. “Okay. You have a good day, Mrs. Stephenson.” He gave the teacher a polite smile over his shoulder, before trotting out of the classroom, ignoring the few jabs of being called “teacher’s pet”, even though everyone knew that Mrs. Stephenson was not his biggest fan.

“Hey, loser,” Michelle greeted, she and Ned standing outside his classroom. “You ready?”

“Yeah.” Peter steeled himself, taking a deep breath. “Let’s get this over with.”

* * *

_March 29, 2016, Avengers Tower_

To say Peter was impressed with the layout of the interior of the most famous building in New York was an understatement.

There were all sorts of technological advancements just in the lobby alone, plus the hustle and bustle of a few employees.

“Dude, this place is amazing!” Ned gripped Peter’s arm in excitement, while Michelle fiddled with the special key she always carried on her if she had the choice to take off her bracelet while they were out and about.

“Yeah. This place isn’t half bad,” she commented dryly.

“Ms. Cho, do you, uh… do you know where my aunt is?” Peter asked after the older woman was finished talking to a coworker.

“Yes, she’s waiting up in the MedBay,” Helen replied. Despite her stern and no-nonsense behavior, Peter did like her.

The geneticist led the three teenagers into the nearest elevator, just as Peter heard the telltale _click!_ of Michelle unlocking her Inhibitor bracelet.

“FRIDAY, take us to the MedBay, please,” Helen instructed.

“ _Yes, Ms. Cho_ ,” a feminine Irish voice from nowhere responded automatically, just as they began to move.

“There’s an AI system wired through here?” Peter asked, amazed.

“Kind of. FRIDAY’s a natural-language user interface. Tony Stark created her,” Helen explained, a bit amused by Peter’s interest.

“ _Ms. Cho is correct,_ ” FRIDAY responded cheerily.

“Didn’t you try to make AI-wired glasses at one point, Peter?” Ned asked, still wildly looking around the elevator.

“Kinda… But plans fell through. It didn’t work out the way I hoped it would,” Peter explained. “And they weren’t AI-wired glasses. They were _augmented reality_ -wired security, defense, and artificial tactical intelligence system.”

“Big words for someone so small,” Michelle teased lightly. “What, you take that from one of Stark's books or something?”

“No, my notes, actually,” he fired back, grinning cheekily.

“Damn, you can give Tony Stark a run for his money,” the girl mused, stuffing her Inhibitor into the pocket of her jacket.

Helen chuckled at their banter, just as the elevator slowed to a stop. “Thanks, Fri. C’mon, guys.”

Ned gave a shy wave to the elevator with an even shyer “Bye, FRIDAY” before the elevator doors slid shut.

Peter felt the same tingling sensation he had felt twice that day travel down the base of his skull. He glanced around, already put on edge of how...hospital-like the MedBay looked.

 _It’s called the “MedBay” for a reason, Parker, what did you expect?_ A voice that sounded eerily similar to... _him_ chided in his head.

“Loser, look alive. There’s your aunt,” Michelle said, nudging Peter to look towards a chair in a section of the giant medical room where may was seated, waiting patiently for them to arrive.

“Hey, Peter! I didn’t know you brought your friends here,” May said. She smiled warmly at the other two teenagers. “How are you two doing?”

“Good, thank you, Mrs. Parker,” Ned said, smiling brightly.

“Well, I mean we’re keeping the dumbass here in check, and he hasn’t done anything stupid yet, so I guess we’re good,” Michelle said, which earned her a playful slug to her arm.

“Very funny, Michelle,” Peter snorted, an amused smile toying at the corners of his lips.

“Alright, Peter, just come over here and take a seat.” Helen motioned to a hospital bed, which made him gulp and shift his weight from one foot to the other.

“I-is there an option to...y’know…” He tugged at his jacket zipper, hear rising in his throat.

“Don’t worry, Peter, I’m not going to do a physical examination. I’m just going to do some blood work, and a simple checkup.”

Peter instantly deflated, slumping against Michelle in relief, all panic of taking anything other than his jacket and shoes off melting away.

Michelle could feel him shake slightly in relief and instantly curled an arm over his shoulders, as he hid his face into the crook of her neck. She knew why he was so scared of doctors. She understood why he didn’t want to get checked over. After all, he told her all the details of that awful night. No one knew every painful detail as she did. He just… He felt safer around her, almost like he knew no one would know how weak and scared he was back then. Michelle Jones could keep a secret like that for anyone. Especially for him.

Helen and May didn’t press him to climb up onto the examination table while Ned and Michelle simply comforted the shorter boy for a few more minutes.

“Okay… Okay, I think I’m good..” He lifted his head from Michelle’s collarbone, his cheeks tinted pink. He hoisted himself up onto the examination table, shrugging off his jacket after another bout of hesitation.

“Alright, Peter, I’m just going to take a tiny bit of blood from your arm, then we'll do a checkup. Sound good?” Helen asked, already cleaning the crook of Peter’s arm for where she was going to inject the needle.

He nodded slowly, swallowing. He lifted his bright blue gaze from Helen to May, who was standing off to the side, probably contemplating when she could go get another can of beer.

He flinched when he felt someone reassuringly squeeze his hand and looked over to see Ned and Michelle smiling encouragingly at him, as Helen stuck the needle into his outstretched arm.

“Okay. Hold still… That should do it.” She pulled the needle away from the fourteen-year-old, making his muscles relax. She smiled apologetically at him, placing the vial of blood in a test tube rack on her desk. “Okay. I’ll do some tests after I send you off… Now, onto that checkup.”

Peter obediently sat and waited as every test was completed, his breath only hitching when she had to check his heartbeat. After what happened to him, the cold metal being pressed against his bare skin hit differently. Especially with his newly-formed muscles.

“Well, everything looks good, Peter. Anything hurting at all, or is there anything that feels off?” Helen asked.

 _It's now or never, Parker. You can do this._ “W-well, I mean, I don’t need any contacts or glasses anymore. I can see perfectly,” he explained.

Helen quirked an eyebrow, and even May seemed confused.

“You’re not wearing your contacts?” She asked, surprised.

Peter shook his head, an exasperated puff of air escaping through his nose. “No. My vision’s probably better than even _before_ I needed glasses. And I can see a lot of colors that you might need to see under a UV light just… Out. Outside, in here probably… Anywhere, really.”

Helen nodded, taking out her notepad to record what he was saying. “Anything else?”

Peter nodded his head. “Yeah. My senses feel like they’ve been dialed to eleven. I can hear everyone’s heartbeat in here, I just heard the elevator doors open from over here, and I can hear another heartbeat. It’s faint, so it’s farther away, but… Yeah. I can hear stuff like that.”

“Fascinating…” The geneticist mused.

“If I concentrate more, I think I’ll be able to hear other stuff outside of that,” he added.

“Is there anything else?” May asked, stepping closer.

Her nephew licked his lips nervously, furrowing his brow. “Y-yeah, but I.. It’s kinda stupid…”

Helen frowned, confused. “Like what, Peter?”

He knew if he told them about his super strength and sticky fingers that he’d immediately have to wear an Inhibitor, and he did _not_ want to do that. So instead of telling them, he kept his mouth shut. “I can, uh… I can sense when something’s coming, like danger or something. It’s probably just my senses going into overdrive, but yeah. And my mouth kinda hurts…” He finally admitted, ducking his head sheepishly.

“How bad is the pain?” The geneticist/doctor asked.

“It’s not bad,” he said. “I mean, it was really bad during school, but it’s kinda died down. So, I guess on the pain scale... About a two-and-a-half now? It just feels more like teething pains or something.”

“Well, I think if you start taking Advil the pain will go away on its own,” Helen said in a no-nonsense, professional tone. “Do you want anything to suck on at all, Peter?”

“Maybe an ice cube?” He asked shyly, cheeks flushing. “I mean, an ice cube might help until I can get some Advil.”

“Of course. You guys wait here, and I can go get you an ice cube, Peter,” Helen offered before Peter slid off the table.

“No, no, you don’t have to do that. I can go and get one on my own, it’s no trouble.” he smiled sincerely, which led to Michelle rolling her eyes affectionately.

“You’re such a loser.”

“Thank you, I try hard,” he fired back, no real bite to his voice.

“Alright, there’s a little waiting room down the hall and to your right. There’s a minifridge stocked with snacks and has a working ice dispenser in there,” Helen explained, as she prepared the necessary paperwork for May to fill out.

“Okay. Thank you, Ms. Cho.” He trotted down the hallway, shrugging back on his jacket.

“I’m gonna go after him. C’mon, Ned.” Michelle dragged the shorter boy after her, making him respond with a yelp.

“Ow! Hey! I can walk myself, Michelle!” he protested, rubbing his arm.

“Too slow loser,” she deadpanned, as Peter looked around the area of the Tower with interest.

“Peter, dude, look!” Ned grabbed the blue-eyed boy’s arm, pointing at a dark office with the door firmly shut. “It’s Bruce Banner’s office!”

Peter cocked his head in interest. “Didn’t Bruce Banner go off the grid after the attack on Sokovia?” He asked.

“Yeah. Everyone thinks he fled to Mexico,” Michelle offered her input. “But that’s just what the public thinks.”

“Where do _you_ think he is, then?” Ned asked, looking over at his other friend.

“Wakanda maybe? Not sure.” The Inhuman shrugged lightly, striding on ahead, past the locked office, and into the direction of the waiting area.

Peter and Ned trailed behind her like lost puppies, looking around curiously.

“ _That’s_ the minifridge?” Ned gaped at the fridge that was, at least, double the size of a normal one with large eyes.

“Yeah, no, that’s not a minifridge,” Peter agreed hastily.

“It’s Tony Stark’s tower. What did you expect?” Michelle asked, pulling open the fridge to locate the icebox.

Peter stated to examine the snack bags and boxes scattered neatly on the counter into little piles, such as Pop-Tarts, pistachios, M&M’s, and pretty much every snackish food in existence.

“Here.” Michelle thrust an ice cube into his face, and he eagerly clamped his teeth around it.

“Thank you,” he tried to say around a mouthful of ice.

The girl shrugged. “Yeah, don’t mention it. “Now, c’mon. You know I can’t control myself around chocolate as well as I’d like to.”

Peter chuckled, grinning toothily at her. He took his ice cube out of his mouth. “I know, Jones.”

As the three teenagers walked back down towards the area where Helen and May were waiting, Peter absent-mindedly sucked on his ice cube, silently listening to Ned blab on about _Star Wars_ or something or other.

“...I’ll run some blood tests, and I’ll call you if I see anything,” Helen said, as May nodded, looking relieved to get out of there and go home and drink.

“Okay. Thanks, Helen,” she said, giving her friend a tight hug.

“It’s no problem, May. I’ll see you on Thursday, okay?” She patted her friend on the back, smiling.

May nodded. “Thursday, got it.” She turned her attention to Peter and his friends. “You guys ready to go?”

Peter nodded. “Yeah.” He grinned at Helen. “Thank you, Ms. Cho.”

“It’s no problem, Peter. I’ll call either you or May when your blood test results come back.”

He nodded. “Thank you. Again.” He chuckled sheepishly, holding his ice cube in his hand before sticking it back into his mouth to soothe the throbbing in his gums.

He made sure it was out of his mouth while they were walking through the lobby to reach May’s car, which made the fourteen-year-old’s stomach clench when he was able to smell several-day-old alcohol while they approached it.

“You aren’t...drunk at all, right, May?” Peter asked discreetly, to which May shrugged in response.

“I think it’ll be fine,” she said nonchalantly, unlocking her station wagon.

“You _think_?” He quirked an eyebrow in disbelief, while Ned and Michelle, who was fastening her Inhibitor back on her wrist, climbed into the backseat of the car.

“Peter.” May gently cupped her nephew’s face in her hands, planting a kiss on his freckled nose. “I’m not going to get pulled over. I promise.”

He seemed a bit cautious, but relented, allowing her to run her fingers through his fluffy curls. “Okay.”

He climbed into the passenger seat, sucking on the last bit of his melting ice cube before rummaging through the glove compartment to find a bottle of Advil, as May pulled out of her parallel parking space and started to drive towards Ned’s house to take him home.

“You glad I only live a block away from you, Parker?” Michelle leaned over to nudge Peter in the back of his arm, making him smile and look over his shoulder to face her.

He grinned around a mouthful of melting ice cube. “Yeah.”

“Hey! I live two blocks away!” Ned stuck out his lower lip in a pout, staring at the taller girl with his large, amber eyes.

“Yeah, you don’t count,” Michelle said nonchalantly, making both boys start laughing.

“You’re evil, Jones,” Parker said, shaking his head.

“I know.” She gave him a cocky grin, something completely unlike her, which instantly made him duck his head, a shy blush crossing over his face.

May drove down the street to reach Ned’s apartment, the three teenagers chatting about school and whatever they had due the next day.

“Okay, Ned, we’re here,” May said cheerfully, interrupting their Michelle-led conspiracy theory on the death of Princess Diana.

“Alright, man, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Peter said, he and Ned performing their secret handshake from over the seats.

“Okay. Let us know what Ms. Cho says,” Ned said a friendly smile on his face.

He nodded. “Yeah, I’ll let you know. Bye, Ned.”

“Bye, Peter, bye, Michelle!” Ned said, grabbing his backpack while Michelle slugged his arm. “Thank you, Mrs. Parker!”

“Text us the notes for chem, dweeb,” she said.

“I will, I will!” He slammed the car door shut, waving at his friends and May before heading inside his apartment. 

Once the door shut behind him, May drove off to take Michelle home, while Peter silently stared out the window. His ice cube had melted long before they took Ned home, so he was no longer sucking on it, much to his annoyance.

“Hey.”

He looked over his shoulder at the Inhuman, bright blue eyes staring into her dark, cocoa ones. “Yeah?”

“You text us. As soon as you hear something, you text us. Got it?” She leaned a bit closer to his chair, a serious, intimidating look on her face.

Peter grinned cockily. “Aye-aye, captain.” He laughed when she shoved his head away. “But seriously, I will. I promise.”

“You don’t, and I’ll kill you.” She grabbed her backpack, preparing herself to climb out of the car and head up to her building. “Thanks, Mrs. Parker,” she said politely.

“You’re very welcome, Michelle,” she said, smiling.

Peter kept his eyes trained on her, watching her head up to her apartment. He waved over-enthusiastically when she looked back at him. He chuckled a tiny bit when she flipped him off before padding inside her home.

“You guys would be cute together,” May commented wistfully.

Peter tilted his head. “Huh?”

“You and Michelle,” she said, a knowing gleam in her eyes.

“You sure you aren’t drunk, May?” He asked a bit surprised when she made that comment.

The older woman chuckled. “I’m sure, Peter.” She ruffled her nephew’s head, smiling. “I see the way you look at her, kiddo.”

Peter’s eyes widened. “May, please no. No, no, no, no. I don’t— I don’t have a crush on Michelle. She’s just a friend, I promise.”

When his aunt grinned knowingly at him, he groaned, burying his head into his hands. “May, please, I beg of you,” he mumbled into his hands.

She smiled at him, shaking her head. “I’m just messing with you, Peter.” She turned the car down their street, driving right towards their apartment. “So. What do you want to do for dinner?”

“I was gonna make pasta tonight or something,” he said, looking up at her after some hesitation to hide his reddened cheeks. “After the groceries are put away.”

May sighed, shaking her head. “How in the world did I get blessed with a teenager as helpful as you are?” She wondered aloud, making her nephew smile shyly and duck his head.

“May…” Peter dragged out his aunt’s name, making her smile.

“I’m only speaking the truth, kiddo. Did you see Matt at all today?” She asked as she pulled into their underground parking garage.

“Yeah, I did. I saw him at McDonald’s,” Peter said, hopping out of the car. “Still planning on going to church with him on Sunday this week, see if I can catch up on what I missed while I was sick.”

It was a tradition that Peter, Matt, May, and Ben went to church every Sunday. Although Ben had died, the two of them still went, while May had resorted to staying home, drinking herself to near-death in alcohol.

May nodded, a bit distracted. “Are you doing okay at _The Daily Bugle_?” She asked.

Peter resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Of course, his aunt would shift the focus onto his job. “Well, I mean, I’m still an underpaid photographer, but I dunno how long it’ll last.” He picked up three, heavy bags of groceries in his arms with little to no effort, while his aunt grabbed the last two from the trunk. “I’m still trying to find a decent-paying job _somewhere_ , though.”

“Peter, you’re barely fifteen,” May protested as they walked.

The teenager shook his head. “I need to find a job, May. You lost yours, and there’s only so much Mr. Murdock and Ms. Cho can do to help.” He looked at his aunt with wide, concerned blue eyes.

The older woman pursed her lips then sighed. “Okay. I know, Peter, and I’m trying the best I can to look for one.”

“I know you are, May,” Peter said, shoving his shoulder into the door leading up to the flights of stairs that they used to reach the apartment. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t try to look, too.”

Online job hunting wasn’t going to be an option for Peter for a while— at least not until he was sixteen. But that didn't mean he couldn't try.

He just hoped he'd be able to find one during the summer, and one that would pay relatively well. He knew he and May needed the money, especially after Ben died. There was only so much that Matt could do to help them out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bet you weren't expecting that little tidbit with Matt Murdock, now did you?
> 
> I mainly added him and Helen Cho into the story because there aren't very many fics out there with either of them solely focusing on Peter (at least none that I've seen) instead of Peter and Tony since this isn't an Irondad fic nor canon-compliant.
> 
> I also had to do some research on the particular Indiana Jones poster Peter owns! The cheapest one I could find on eBay was about $750, while all the others were up in the thousands.
> 
> I'm very sorry I took so long to get this chapter out! Spideychelle Week took up most of my time, so I wasn't able to work on SMVF for a while. Kind of a filler chapter, but I promise the next one is gonna be better!


End file.
